Too many choices in Telluride...

I can't remember the exact content of the conversation- or when, where and with whom I was engaged in dialogue with. It doesn't matter. The point is at some space in time somebody brought up the fact that if you have a relatively complicated electrical system with one minut detail such as a single light behaves oddly that another simple action such as disconnecting the battery and then reconnecting it may very well correct the errant detail. We were probably sitting around a wood splitter or truck or a tractor shooting the breeze and sipping a brew after a days work. For whatever reason I stored that fact-random at the time- for many years.  

This winter was particularly cold. Very seldom would we travel any considerable distance without the assurance of our four-wheel drive truck. As a result the car stood idle while we were away. The first time we started it up after being away the "check engine" light stayed on. I did my due deligence. I check all the obviously things but did not detect any defects. The car drove like a champ and months went by before my brained recalled this past conversation. In two minutes I took out my Allen set, disconnected the negative terminal and waited. After a couple minutes I reconnected and started the engine. The light was off!

At that point a realization occurred. That is the reason I am so intrigued with his notion of homesteading. You just have to figure it out!  You draw on your past experience, gain perseptive and eventually you just kind of figure it out. Starting from raw land you are forced to figure out a lot of things.  

Priority in life is not placed on money. It is not placed on having fuel combusting toys and a big house with leather furniture. When technology comes into your hands it is out of a need. The necessity of a possession begins with the most hale of them all- food, shelter, clothing. After years of work and thinking things through electricity and water flow. The gardens produce more, daily chores become more efficient and then finally the finer points in life like can be entertained. 

But in this modern world- where even contemporary homesteaders watch films on a flat screen at the end of the day- What is the "simple life"?  Is it in the rural homesteads of America?  After all, this is a life full of all sorts of tools, trucks and large properties. Or dare I say that the "simple life" exists in the middle of New York City?  A place where residents have hardly any space in comparison yet never drive a car. Where everyone shares common sewage and utilities?  Does the "simple life" exist in both?  If so, what does this paradigm mean for the future of our planet?  

"The simple life Up North..."

We have the luxury of having mail box along Lake Superior. Every evening on our way home from work we stop and get the mail before turning up the hill to the homestead. This means that everyday we get out at the waters edge and feel the great energy of the massive inland sea. 

A couple of months ago on a cold late spring day a random letter from the Star Tribune- the preminant news publication of Minnesota- appeared at our waters edge mail box.  

At first I thought that "they must be getting desperate for subscriptions soliciting the likes of us way up here in the bush". We opened it nonetheless. The letter began "I don't mean to ambush you but..."  Typically that would have be enough- mail with that kind of lead would quickly find a home in the confines of a cast iron inferno. However this particular correspondence caught our attention. We read on. It turned out that a reputable journalist wanted to interview our family in attempt to gain a perspective of what it is like for a young family to "live the dream" and homestead the North Shore. 

At first we were reluctant. This is hardly within our realm of comfort. We are not the type to air our personal business- especially to such a large publication. We went back and forth contemplating whether to accept the offer. 

In the end we decided to agree to the interview. We felt that there was a story to be told. In the age of 24 hour news cycles, air conditioners and video games there is also the age-old dream of living the "simple life". A life where the news of the dinner table is what has flowered, which new wild game track appeared on the trail overnight, or what lake hasn't been paddled and fished for a while. 

So we met for an afternoon with the journalist and had a fine discussion. While we knew that there is no way for one to completely grasp our principles, intention, and true meaning we appreciate the article as a testimony to the trials and tribulations of a lifestyle that has somehow been largely forgotten. We are fortunate to attempt to live this dream of ours. 

http://m.startribune.com/?id=259461431

Clearwater Lake

The trickle of spring melt in the creek, the amused laughter of a toddler, and the chorus of migrating song birds in the spruce tops is among the most wonderfull melodies in the world. 

Another "light switch" moment

Thin wispy clouds glide past the waxing moon. A longstanding storm system that has delivered the first green shoots of vegetation clears out. Birds chirp with the dusk of night. Water trickles in the creeks along both ends of my periphery.  One hundred more red and white pine saplings have found their roots in new soil around the property.  A whippoorwill chants in the distant-spring is finally here!

It has been almost ceramoneous around here. In the last couple of weeks we have successfully installed a washer and dryer as well as a dishwasher!  In a way it completes a main objective of the project- to build a home from raw land to all the standard modern comveniances. It's funny- I think a lot about the "light switch" moment when electricity first surged through the outlets and lights. This enabled us to jump into the modern world of long lights painting and making wood cuts without a generator. We moved in and lived quite a while without running water. That in itself is something that most Americans find foreign. Oddly enough it didn't really impact our quality of life all that much. It just took longer to do the dishes.  Then came water. While the amenity of having warm running water at the turn of a facet was certainly convinient it wasn't nearly as sentinel as electricity is facilitating ease to our lives. The nicest thing then was the ability to take a long hot shower at home after a hard days work. It still wasn't a "light switch" moment. Even with water flowing from a faucet it took lots of time to wash the dishes- sometimes even more because it incentivized the use of more dishes. 

Then came the dishwasher!  This is the first time since we realized the full breadth of electricity that modern  technology revolutionized our lives!  We can now load it up an walk away- off to weed the garden, go for a hike, read a book, whatever. It doesn't matter- hardly any time is spent doing what had been a major daily investment of our time. The washer and dryer- all of a sudden we could dry that soaked pair of pants or perform an emergency cleaning of a toddlers soiled britches!  

Our time can now focus on some truly finer points of life. Another "light switch" moment...